GRAINGER OFFERS GREENERY IN NEW HQ DEAL

The equipment distributor hopes to build a 550,000-square-foot facility on a 525-acre parcel near Illinois Route 60 and the Tri-State Tollway that the company acquired in 1988. Plans include donating 257 acres to the Lake County Forest Preserve District, the largest one-time gift by a single property owner in the agency's 35-year history. The industrial equipment distributor will also build luxury homes on 113 acres.

The proposal would end five years of legal battles with the village of Mettawa, which balked at commercial development on property currently zoned for residential use.

City

Union machinists and pilots at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines voted to approve a buyout plan giving employees a majority stake in the carrier in exchange for contract concessions worth $5 billion. . . .Tribune Co. will pay $100 million to acquire Thomas C. Wright Inc., a developer of educational material for elementary schools based in Bothell, Wash. Also known as Wright Group, the firm posted 1993 revenues of $34 million. . . .Northern Trust Co. began searching the South and Southwest sides for a location to open a full-service bank branch. Separately, Northern Trust pledged to make $1 million in mortgages to low-income lenders this year via a new state program. . . .Hinckley & Schmitt Inc. paid an undisclosed price to acquire Colorado Crystal brand beverages from Vancol Industries Inc., a Denver distributor. . . .The Greater State Street Council will decide soon when to reopen the State Street Mall to traffic. A key component of the plan is the $775-million downtown circulator project, which has yet to receive full funding. . . .Montgomery Ward & Co. plans to open six Electric Avenue & More stores over the next 12 months. Chairman Bernard Brennan said the 45,000-square-foot stores in South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Iowa combine the retailer's Electric Avenue and Rooms & More concepts. . . .Amoco Corp. said three units affected by fires at its Whiting, Ind., refinery should be back on-line in a few weeks. Stress on the facilities caused by the recent cold snap was blamed for the fires. . . .Inland Steel Industries Inc. will pay $83 million to buy General Electric Capital Corp.'s stake in a caster facility leased by Inland Steel.. . .Ameritech Corp. will launch a digital video network upgrade that should bring interactive television and other cable services to 6 million customers by 2000. . . .Jean-Pierre Ergas, 54, resigned as chairman and chief executive of American National Can Co. and as senior executive vice-president of French parent Pechiney S.A. The board of directors named Jean-Louis Vinciguerra, 49, to replace Mr. Ergas, who reportedly will become a professor of international business.. . .Kurt B. Karmin, 65, former chairman of Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc., joined Cowen & Co. as managing director of retail operations for the New York brokerage firm's Chicago office. Mr. Karmin's son, Philip, also joined Cowen as an investment executive from Rodman.

North and Northwest

A public advocacy group urged federal regulators to prevent North Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories from marketing a raspberry-flavored lollipop that contains a narcotic designed to relax children before surgery. The Food and Drug Administration approved the product in October, but the group contends that putting the anesthetic into candy form risks the lives of children.. . .Glenview-based Zenith Electronics Corp. will team up with Bose Corp. of Framingham, Mass., to market an audiovisual home theater system priced at less than $6,000. . . .Former Vernon Hills Trustee Bradley Berman pleaded guilty to defrauding two banks of more than $700,000 in a 1988 check-kiting scheme. Mr. Berman faces a possible five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in federal court April 7. . . .Prospect Heights-based Household International Inc. agreed to become the sole issuer of the JCB credit card, a 33-year-old product offered by Japan's JCB International Inc. and the leading credit card in Japan.

West

Dean Foods Co. in Franklin Park received an exclusive license to market non-fat and low-fat dairy and specialty food products under the Guilt Free brand of Searcy, Ark.-based Yarnell Ice Cream Co. Terms were not disclosed. . . .Jewel Food Stores in Melrose Park offered buyouts to 1,400 employees in an effort to trim management and clerical staffs by 125. Jewel is a unit of Salt Lake City-based American Stores Co., whose bottom line has suffered in recent years because of increased competition, high costs and lower margins from food sales.

Downstate

Bloomington-based State Farm Insurance Co. expects to receive 115,000 claims from victims of the Los Angeles earthquake-four times the number of claims filed after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, which cost the company $120 million in claims. . . .Peoria-based RLI Corp. said its after-tax cost of policy claims from the Los Angeles temblor could fall between $13 million and $17 million. The claims are expected to cause the insurance firm to post a loss in the first quarter of fiscal 1994 (see story on Page 16). . . .The Illinois Department of Transportation this week will redesignate 2,700 miles of truck routes statewide to allow wider trucks. The designation, effective Feb. 1, will affect 20 miles of truck routes in the Chicago area. . . .Secretary of State George Ryan proposed an overhaul of Illinois securities laws to better protect vulnerable small investors. The proposals include higher criminal fines, increased prison terms for some felonies involving investment scams and the seizure of assets of con artists to help make restitution. The plan must be approved by the General Assembly.